The Gates of God

North of Delhi, in the foothills of the Himalayas is one of the Hindu’s holiest sites, the point where the sacred River Ganges descends from the mountains to the plains below. Haridwar means ‘Gates of God’ in Hindi and this is the scene of the fantastical Kumbh Mela Festival when holy men and naked sadhus (nagas) join millions of worshippers in the world’s biggest religious gathering. Haridwar hosts this unique event every 12 years and from January to April multitudes of devotees to Ganga, the life-giving goddess will converge to bathe in her soul-cleansing water.

Further upstream Rishikesh claims to be the world capital of Yoga whilst to the south Corbett is one of Himalayan India’s last expanses of wilderness. The country’s first national park was renamed in honour of the famous hunter turned naturalist Jim Corbett. Project Tiger was launched here in 1973 but the diversity of food and cover also supports a wide variety of mammals and birds including crocodiles, jackals, wild boar, leopards, elephants and eagles. Meanwhile the hill station of Mussoorie was considered to be quite raffish during the British Raj and contrasts with the Buddhist settlement at Mindrolling in exile, named after the original Monastery in Tibet. Established by His Eminence Khochhen Rinpoche it boasts the world’s largest stupa and a line of great female masters, the Jetsumna’s.